


Dwelling

by ifonlyiwaswittier



Series: Unrelated Eruri [6]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Domestic Fluff, First Meetings, Fluff, Getting Together, Light Angst, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Swearing, Sweet, oh my god they were roommates, only eruri could make college roommates be domestic fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 14:23:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15098501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifonlyiwaswittier/pseuds/ifonlyiwaswittier
Summary: It was a mistake, really, that they were rooming together in the first place.Levi never wanted a roommate, especially not one so smart and beautiful and goddamn thoughtful but he's left with no choice but to drag his boxes into Erwin's apartment anyway. It isn't long before they find an easy routine, effortless trust, and feelings that go beyond friendship.





	Dwelling

**Author's Note:**

> College AU commission for the wonderful [@smiss-miss](http://www.smiss-miss.tumblr.com) on tumblr. Find me on tumblr [@ellswritesthings](http://www.ellswritesthings.tumblr.com) if you want to commission or just scream idc.

Erwin throws open the door to his apartment with a flourish. “My only rule, is no rules,” he says, letting Levi push past him with his suitcase in hand. “But seriously, please don’t break anything.”

Levi rolls his eyes.

It was a mistake, really, that they were rooming together in the first place. Levi was supposed to live in a dorm near the library but when he showed up for move in, there was no record of him at all besides a payment, no room anywhere on campus reserved for him, and nothing they could do besides issue a refund. Thankfully Hange (who’s dating Moblit, who took a chemistry class with Nanaba, who’s dating Mike) connected Levi with Mike’s childhood best friend Erwin. There was an empty room in Erwin’s apartment, and Erwin would sublet it for cheaper than university’s room and board so, as much as Levi had really not wanted a roommate, Levi dragged in his two boxes and his suitcase and decided his matchbox of a room was more than good enough.

The morning after he moves in, Erwin scares the fuck out of him.

“Oh, sorry!” Erwin exclaims, looking at the puddle of tea Levi just spilled all over the counter. Levi peeks out the tiny window above the sink of Erwin’s kitchenette, wondering if maybe he got up later than he thought. But no, the sun is still barely coloring the horizon and Erwin is definitely standing in nothing but a towel in the doorway to the kitchen. It’s surprising; Levi genuinely had no idea that anyone else under the age of 65 willingly got up before noon.

“I heard you in the kitchenette and wanted to make sure that you didn’t need the bathroom before I showered,” Erwin says by way of explanation.

Levi coughs to cover how he’s choking to death on his own saliva at the sight of the vee of Erwin’s hips, the dusting of blonde hair dipping below the towel line. He’s convinced the blood has left his head so quickly that he might pass out.

“Go for it,” is all he can manage. He spends much more time than needed wiping at the tea on the counter.

Early morning near death experience aside, they fall into an easy routine. Levi showers first, then Erwin takes his unjustifiably long shower while Levi sips his tea. Turns out Erwin also hates the campus gym so he buys a membership to Levi’s mom and pop place a few miles away and drives them both to save Levi the bus fare. Levi quickly discovers how badly he wants to be held down and fucked into oblivion everytime Erwin does a push up or a squat but Erwin caught him staring once and Levi’s pretty sure he left this mortal plane so he just avoids looking at Erwin when they work out. Then they drive to campus, classes, work, studying, then back home for dinner.

It’s nice really, having something in his life that is so sensible and easy. They share stories of how hard they used to party before they lived together but now they go grocery shopping and do laundry weekly. Erwin is funny, he wears fanny packs and patterned shirts that look like bowling alley carpet, but he’s also really fucking smart with a GPA to show it. He’d never admit it, but he’s almost glad his dorm housing got fucked up, if only because it helps him keep his sanity much further into the semester than usual.

It isn’t until November that he finally loses his shit and throws a spoon at the wall. The pasta sauce he’d been stirring drips down the wall where the spoon made contact.

“Levi?” Erwin asks from the couch.

He has no fucking clue what’s wrong with him but the thought of finishing cooking, of eating, of studying for his next two midterms when two are already behind him, of going to sleep then waking up tomorrow then doing it all again and again, is so fucking overwhelming he wants to scream.

He hurries to the door and scoops up his snow boots right as Erwin pokes his head into the doorway.

“Sorry,” he mutters.

He’s halfway to the library before he realizes he’s still holding his boots. The sight of his fish patterned sock, bright against the wet concrete, almost makes him laugh.

That night, Levi sits in one of the library’s study cubicles for a long time, brain tuned to static. He spends his time watching over the divider as other students come and go until the security guard comes around and tells him they’re closing and he makes the walk home, the cold easily cutting through the sweatshirt he’d been wearing when he stormed out. Their drafty apartment isn’t much better so he turns on the kettle.

He feels like shit for melting down then storming out. Levi didn’t grab his phone and he’s not looking forward to checking all of Erwin’s texts and calls. Erwin is a worrier and Levi finds it endearing but he’s still not used to it. He’s not used to someone caring where he is or wondering when he’ll be back so he’s not sure how to tell Erwin sorry for disappearing like that.

The ding of their electric kettle pulls him out of his thoughts. It’s late and he’s tired; this is a problem for tomorrow. He feels the exhaustion in his body when he reaches into the cabinet for tea, feels sleepiness lagging his brain when he can’t quite process that he’s not holding the decaf Lipton he bought from the corner store a couple weeks ago. This is nice shit, some kind of chamomile and jasmine mix, and it smells fucking incredible.

He pokes his head around into the hallway, surprised to find Erwin’s light on under the door. He figures he should say something, though he’s not sure what, but the tea looks expensive so goes over to Erwin’s door and knocks quietly.

“Hey,” he offers lamely.

“Hey,” Erwin returns. He smiles. He looks relieved.

“I, um…” Levi begins. It’s almost three in the morning, why in the hell is he standing in Erwin’s doorway like a toddler who’s afraid of the dark? Unsure what else to do, he raises the tea box that’s still in his hand. “I’ve been stressed so thanks.”

“Of course. I’m sorry you’ve been so stressed-”

“It’s fine. You don’t need to say sorry,” Levi interrupts. He picks at the wood of the door frame but Erwin doesn’t seem to be in any hurry, watching him with that pleased curiosity like always.

“Why are you up so late?” he asks finally.

“I was, um,” Erwin blushes. “I wanted to make sure you got home okay.”

They make small talk for a couple more minutes, then Levi turns off Erwin’s light and heads to his own bed. Thinking about all the shit the future is sure to bring is a little easier knowing Erwin will be there with him.

Looking back, Levi can see the trend: Erwin is just a kind and generous person and while that makes one part of Levi really suspicious, a much larger part can’t help but like it. Erwin shares his Xbox, refills Levi’s tea when it gets low, uses a scrubbing brush to keep the bathroom clean even if Levi has to go back and redo most of it. He’s easy to trust and it makes Levi crave being trusted back. Well, it makes Levi crave a lot, crave more than a hand on his lower back or an arm around his shoulder, crave more than separate bedrooms and choked off words of affection. It scares him, that he wants anything at all, because he’s never been good at these kinds of things so he focuses on school, on work, on anything to keep him distracted while he tries to let time bury the silly crush he has on his roommate.

The first Friday of Thanksgiving break, Levi’s shocked to find that not only is Erwin at the apartment, he’s also cooked.

“Weren’t you going to Mike’s for Thanksgiving?” Levi asks as he unwinds the uneven scarf Petra knitted for him years ago.

“Um, yeah,” Erwin says. He bends down and pulls a casserole dish from the oven. Levi didn’t even know they had a casserole dish. Or an apron. Where the fuck did Erwin get an apron? “But I decided to stay here. Hange gave me some edibles they couldn’t sell before they left. Do you want one before we eat?”

Levi hesitates, trying to look very focused on undoing the velcro on his snow boots to buy himself some time. He likes weed, that’s not the problem. The problem is that the longer Levi lives with Erwin, the more he fantasizes about getting in his pants, and an edible would be almost certainly unravel the last thread of resistance preventing him from trying to fuck his roommate.

“Come on,” Erwin pleads. Since when did they have oven mits? “It’s break, Levi. It’ll be fun, I promise.”

Which is how, against his better judgement, he ends up sitting on the kitchen floor stoned out of his mind.

“I didn’t know you could cook, Smith,” Levi says, lolling his head against the cabinet behind him. He can’t remember ever feeling his heavy, so weighed down by contentment and whatever pasta casserole thing they’d scarfed down.

“I can’t cook, Food Network can,” Erwin says and they both burst into laughter. They laugh until they’re wheezing, until Erwin falls over and his head lands in Levi’s lap, until Levi runs his fingers through Erwin’s hair and they’re not laughing at all.

“So soft,” Levi sighs. “How is it so soft?”

Erwin turns his head to meet Levi’s eye and his face is so full of such frantic affection, such unbridled tenderness, that Levi feels his stomach lurch.

“Can I kiss you?” Erwin says around a poorly hidden giggle.

Erwin is beautiful and makes Levi smile and actually listens when Levi talks-- hell, he even cooked dinner-- and maybe that’s a low bar but he thinks he’s more than a little in love with his roommate and this might be his only chance.

Against his better judgement, Levi nods.

Erwin kisses him lazy and slow, the warm languidness of the movements a sharp contrast to the cool linoleum tile as they fold into each other. As they lift each others’ hems, Levi can finally learn the parts of Erwin he’s only imagined until this point: the hard length between his thighs, the firmness of his arms and the thin lines that scar them as hated souvenirs of difficult high school years, the slight tummy he'd gained during freshman year despite his religious gym routine.

Kissing Erwin feels like dancing on train tracks, ignoring the horns in the distance, but Levi finds he doesn’t care; that’s a problem for tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning Levi wakes up on the couch, held in Erwin’s arms and covered in more drool than clothing. He doesn’t even bother showering, just throws on all the warm clothing he has before heading to the library which is fucking closed, of course, because it’s the first day of break. He can’t stand the idea of going back to the apartment, of having to face the roommate that he fucked last night. But he also can’t think of anywhere else to go so decides to sit on the steps to the library and wait until he has a better idea.

He’s halfway through composing a text to Hange begging them to find absolutely anywhere else for him to live when the man in question comes jogging up the steps, a to-go coffee cup in each hand. Erwin smiles.

“Thought I’d find you here,” he says, holding out a cup for Levi. “It’s Earl Grey. Barista said it’s a good one too.”

Levi takes the cup reluctantly. He sniffs the tea. It does smell pretty good. Erwin takes a seat on the steps next to him and together they watch the fog covering the quad stretch like cotton balls being pulled apart. Erwin wraps an arm around Levi with a sigh and Levi knows this is it. He can’t say he’s surprised that he managed to fuck this up too.

“I want you to know” Erwin begins. Levi braces himself. “That I’m serious about this. About you.”

Well that’s not what he’d expected at all. Distantly, he feels his brow furrow in confusion but even though can feel his thoughts churning in overtime, he still can’t manage to catch up to what Erwin said. And Erwin’s face is so fucking sincere-- Levi just can’t believe it. Maybe he’s still high.

“B- but-” Levi stutters. He’s not sure if he’s ever stuttered before.

“Levi, you’re so wonderful,” Erwin interrupts. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but you’re always honest with me, even when it hurts, so I want to be honest with you. You mean so much to me and I just…” Erwin trails off, shakes his head.

No one has ever been as good to Levi as Erwin is. And if Erwin thinks Levi is good too, then maybe this could actually work. He can’t think of anything worth saying so, overwhelmed, he sips at his tea. It’s actually really fucking good.

Levi gives Erwin a quick peck on the cheek, hesitant in ways they weren't last night. “Thank you for the tea.”

It's not what he needs to say, but Erwin understands him like always. Erwin takes Levi's free hand in his own, the yarn of his knit gloves warming Levi's bare skin.

“Anything for you.”


End file.
